Troubleshooting Screen sharing

Below are some common issues that speakers might face during screen sharing mainly because of browser or operating system preferences:

1. Cannot screen share using Mac device on Chrome
2. Screen sharing is blocked in Safari
3. Can only share entire screen
4. Not able to find open application windows in Application Window
5. Computer crashed after turning on screen share on Windows 10

Cannot screen share using Mac device on Chrome

Due to increased security and permissions safeguards with certain Mac versions, speakers may need to adjust Security & Privacy settings to enable screen sharing of desktop and other applications on computer

• Open the System Preferences app.
• Go to the Security & Privacy section.
• On the left, scroll down to “Screen Recording” and click it.

• Users may need to click the lock on the bottom left to make changes and enter their credentials.
• Check Chrome browser on the right.

Speakers may be prompted to quit Chrome in order for the changes to take effect. A reboot of computer may also be required

Screen sharing is blocked in Safari

• Speakers must enable screen sharing for "events.goldcast.io”
• Go to events.goldcast.io or events page via magic link
• Click on ‘Safari’ and click ‘Settings for This Website’

• Check that the Screen Sharing field is not set on Deny. Set it on either Ask or Allow

• Refresh the browser. Next time when speakers try to screen share, Safari will display a window asking to allow screen sharing

Can only share entire screen

Depending on the browser, speakers will have different options for sharing screen. Here are a few of the common ones:

1. Google Chrome: Entire Screen, Application Window, Chrome Tab
2. Firefox: Entire Screen, Application Window
3. Microsoft Edge: Entire Screen, Application Window, Edge Tab
4. Safari: Entire Screen Only

Not able to find open application windows in Application Window

If speakers are not able to find all open application windows in the 'Application Window’ option when screen sharing, it may be due to one of the following reasons:

1. Browser window that is being used for Goldcast event is maximized. When a screen is maximized, only current screen will be listed as an application window that can be shared (even if another window is open)
2. Goldcast event is on a different screen than the application window you'd like to share. Therefore, if speakers have multiple screens or desktops set up, then speakers must make sure that application windows they would like to share are on the same screen or desktop as Goldcast event

Computer crashed after turning on screen share on Windows 10 & Chrome browser

On Windows 10, Chrome freezes when speakers share a high-resolution display. A bug causes this issue in Chrome. The issue may go away if the 'hardware acceleration settings' in Chrome are disabled. To disable this:

• Go to 'Settings' in Chrome browser
• Type "Hardware Acceleration" in the search box
• Click on the toggle button next to 'Use Hardware Acceleration when available' if it is currently on, make sure the button is greyed out.

Bonus tip: Sometimes, the screen share/PDF share can be seen in different colours like purple, pink, or white, and the content is not visible to participants. Speakers can turn off the "Hardware Acceleration" from browser settings and refresh the browser.